The Church: Its Meaning - The Product of the Grace of God

What is the church? We're looking at the church, its meaning, mission and ministry. But to understand the church is to understand why we love the church. You can say it this way, we love the church because the church is the plan of the Son of God. We love the church because the church is the possession of the living God. We love the church because the church is the pillar of the truth of God. It's the picture of the love of God. That's what we've covered up to this point. And we need to understand the meaning of the church.

Because it's also the product of the grace of God. The church is the product of the grace of God. Why are we here today? We are only here for one reason and one reason only, and that's because of God's marvelous, wonderful grace. The grace of God is what saved us. The grace of God is what brought us together. It's the grace of God that put us in the kingdom of God. It's because of the grace of God we are here. We didn't earn our way into heaven. We didn't earn our way into the kingdom. We didn't earn our way to becoming sons of the living God.

We didn't achieve anything. We brought nothing to our salvation. It's Christ and the grace of the living God that saves us. And for that, we are eternally, we'll be eternally grateful. But I'm afraid that what John Newton wrote about amazing grace, most of the people in the church see it as boring grace. We're not nearly as enthralled with grace as we used to be, and yet we should. Because the church that's the product of the grace of God acknowledges and adores the God of grace. They're the ones who apply the teaching of grace.

They're the ones who truly approach the throne of grace, and they're the ones who articulate the gospel of grace. And I wonder, are you the kind of person that adores and acknowledges and truly appreciates the God of grace? You know, in Moses, way back in the book of Exodus, Moses asked to see the glory of the Lord. The Lord told him, I can't let you see my glory and live. I'll incinerate you. For no man can look upon God and live. And yet, God tells him these words in Exodus chapter 34. He says, I myself will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of the Lord.

I'm going to proclaim to you my identity. I'm going to proclaim to you my character, my nature. That's the name of God. And then he says this. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show compassion on whom I show compassion. Moses, I'm going to let you see or hear my name and show you that my grace is bestowed upon those whom I choose. And the same with my compassion. And so in some unique way, God hides Moses in the cleft of the rock in the Exodus 34. And you had this famous passage of Scripture that's quoted 27 more times in the Old Testament.

27 times because it is a hallmark of the character and nature of God. And so God hides Moses in the cleft of the rock in chapter 34. The Lord passed by in front of him, verse 6, to proclaim the Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious. Slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth, who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. Moses, I am a gracious God. In fact, Peter tells us in 1 Peter 5, he's the God of all grace. We understand through the writing of Hebrews that the Spirit is called the Spirit of grace.

We understand from Acts chapter 20, verse number 32 that the Word is called the Word of grace. Why? Because God is by nature one who bestows pleasure and favor on undeserving people. Theologians speak of common grace. The whole world is the benefit of common grace. The Bible tells us in Matthew chapter 5 that the sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous, right? The rain falls on the just and the unjust. We all breathe oxygen. Oxygen is set aside for believers only, right? Oxygen is set aside for everybody.

That's why we live. We are recipients of God's common grace. The way to sin is death. You sin, you're still here. That's grace. That's the grace of the living God. That's what causes unbelievers to continue to live. They sin, God doesn't kill them. He allows them to live another day, or another week, or another year, or maybe a long time, that they might hear of the great gospel of grace. You see? So, are you married? Don't think you got married because you're handsome, good looking and rich. You're married because of God's grace.

That's a grace gift. You have children, a grace gift. You get a job, the worst thing you can think of is that you earned your job, that your education got you your job. No, God graced you with the job. Everything you have is from God. The Bible speaks explicitly about that. What do you have that you did not receive from the Lord? Answer, nothing. Nothing. You got good health, that's grace. That's grace. You got bad health, you need grace. Right? And you see, we forget about all this. We don't appreciate and adore and acknowledge the God of grace like we should.

And if you understand, when grace was first used in the scriptures, and how God graced Noah, you don't understand grace at all.

So turn back with me, if you would, to Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6. And the Lord describes for us sin. He says in verse 5 of chapter 6, The Lord saw that the weakness of man was great on the earth. Now, if he saw that the weakness of man was great on the earth, pre-flood, what do you think he sees after the flood? Nowadays. Do you think he sees the weakness of man even today? Absolutely. He describes sin. He says sin is internal. He says that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

That's the definition of sin. Sin is internal. It stems from the heart. Sin is inclusive. That is, every intent, every thought of man was sinful. So not only is sin internal, but sin is inclusive, and sin is incessant. Because every thought of every man was evil how long? Continually. Sin is incessant. As well as sin being intentional. Every evil thought, every evil intent. In other words, that's the condition of man's heart. He is intentionally, incessantly, internally evil. And God was sorry that he made man.

But, it says, in verse 8, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Now, the common reading of that, people say, well, of course he found favor in the eyes of the Lord. It says that Noah was a righteous and blameless in his time, and Noah walked with God. Of course he found favor in the eyes of the Lord. No, no, no, no, no. You read it wrong. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And because of grace, he was able to walk with God. He was able to be a righteous man. He was able to be a blameless man.

He couldn't be that way on his own. He had to be graced by God. And he was. God's unmerited favor to undeserving sinners. God's stooping down. From the Hebrew word, it means to stoop down or to bend over. That condescending affection upon man. God decided he was going to grace one man. God decided he was going to grace Noah. He was going to grace his family. But nobody else. But he would use this man, Noah, to be a preacher of righteousness for 120 years. Because Hebrews 11 tells us that for 120 years, he built an ark.

And that he was a preacher of righteousness. So while he was working on the ark, he was preaching about the righteousness of God. He was preaching about the grace of God. He was a recipient of God's saving grace. So now he's going to preach to sinners whose evil thoughts and evil intents of their hearts are sinful. They're filled with sin. Because, you see, that's the way Noah was. But God graced him. See, Noah added nothing to his salvation. It's God who graced him. And because God graced him, God used him to be a preacher of righteousness for 120 years.

And he preached over and over again as he built that ark, telling people judgment was going to come. While you have the opportunity to receive grace, receive it because judgment's coming. And they mocked him. Until it began to rain. It never rained before. And it began to rain more and more and more. And then water gushed up from the earth. And Noah went into the ark. And the Bible tells us that God shut the door. And that's because if Noah would have shut the door, he'd have opened the door. Amidst all the screams and the cries for mercy.

But the judgment of God had fallen. And nobody believed. Nobody received. Noah and his family were saved. Because they were graced by God. Everyone else rejected the offer of grace on their behalf. How sad is that? This is why we as a church are a product of grace. We are here today not because God liked us and said, you know what? I like you. Be a part of my kingdom. No, no. Our hearts were sinful. They were evil. And God graced us. God granted us the gift of faith. The gift of believing. The gift of repentance.

Right? None of those are works of man. We don't muster up the opportunity to turn from our evil ways and turn and follow God. No, we've been graced by God. We've been regenerated. We've been washed anew. And it's God who turns us. And when God turns a man, he turns him fully from his sin that he might serve him and adore him and worship him. So this unmerited favor towards undeserving sinners, this condescending stooping down to save those who cannot save themselves is what God's all about. And we're the product of that grace.

That's why we adore and acknowledge the God of grace. We realize we're here not because of anything that we have done. It's by grace you have been saved through faith in and out of yourselves. It's a gift of God. It's not by works of righteousness that we have done. But every religion outside of Christianity is based on a human works system, a human achievement system. Christianity is based on divine accomplishment, what Christ accomplished on Calvary's cross on your behalf. And that's why we're here.

And we're the product of the grace of God. That's why I love what John's Gospel says in John 1, verse number 14, when it says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Remember in John 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. It's all about how the Word was God, how the Word is Christ, the incarnate inspired Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us, stooped down, bent down, and came among us. And we beheld His glory, the glories of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

He goes on to say in verse number 17 or 16, We received grace upon grace. It's like the waves on the sand. These keep coming and coming and coming. They never stop. They're relentless. That's the way it is with God's grace. It is a relentless grace. He says in verse number 17, For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. Our Lord was the fulfillment of all the law of the Old Testament. And that law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came in the personal work of the Messiah Himself.

And so when you go to Ephesians chapter 3, Ephesians chapter 3, Paul says these words. He says, He predestined us to adoption as sons to Jesus Christ to Himself, verse 5, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise and glory of His grace. Why did He do this? To the praise and glory of His grace. He says, Which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us.

He lavished His grace upon us. How do you think we got into the kingdom? How do you think we're going to heaven? How do you think Christ dwells within us? It's all by the grace of the living God. God's unmerited favor bestowed upon undeserving sinners. God decided to grace us. And He did. And we're saved by that grace. That's why we adore Him. We even serve in the ministry by God's grace. Do you think you just serve on your own? Do you think God saves you and then leaves you on your own? And says, Okay, now go do your thing.

Whatever you want to do, just go do it. Just be careful not to sin. Oh, no, no. It's the grace of God that enables us to serve the Lord. We can't serve the Lord without His grace. I'm the pastor of this church, right? Do you think I earned this position? No. Do you think I was educated for this position? No. How did I get this position? The grace of God. I'm only here by God's grace. That's the only reason I'm here. And I serve in that grace. Listen to what Paul said over in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15, verse number 10. By the grace of God, I am what I am. And His grace toward me did not prove vain or empty, but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God within me. My ministry is here because of the grace of God. I am what I am because of God's grace. I'm an apostle because of God's grace. I'm a preacher because of God's grace. I'm a missionary because of God's grace. That's why I'm here. And God's grace wasn't in vain. It wasn't empty. It was all served for a purpose.

And so he says very clearly, it's the grace of God that operates within me. Over in 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse number 9. Paul says, He saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. We are saved not according to our works, but according to His purpose and His grace. And so he says in chapter 2 of 2 Timothy, verse number 1, Why? Because in order for you to impart to faithful men those things that I've taught you, you need the grace of God.

You can't do it on your own. You see, none of us can serve in the ministry of the church without the grace of God. You can't serve your wife or your husband without the grace of God. You can't do anything for Christ without His grace. That's why we have the spirit of grace residing within us and the word of grace we hold before us that we might learn to follow the grace of the living God. We are strong in the grace that is only in Christ Jesus. And it's Jesus who bestows His grace upon us. That's why we adore the God of grace.

We can't do anything without the Lord. You see, that's the problem. We think we can. Christ said, without me, you can do what? But see, we don't believe that. We really don't believe that. We think we can do our marriage without Jesus. We think we can do our missionship without Jesus. We think we can preach the gospel without Jesus. We think we can do it because we're smart, intellectual, well-rounded people. That we can do this thing. We got this. We can do church. We can run church. We can have church.

No. Without me, Christ said, you can't do anything. Nothing in the eternal realm, nothing that has eternal value, can you do without me because I am the God of all grace. So when it comes to salvation, when it comes to service, when it comes to sanctification, we're sanctified by the word of grace. When it comes to suffering, we need the grace of God, right? Paul said, when he had the thorn in the flesh, 2 Corinthians 12 verse number 9, that the Lord told him, my grace is sufficient for you, Paul.

I'm not going to remove the thorn in your side, the messenger of Satan. I'm going to allow it to be there. And it kept him from being puffed up. It kept him from exalting himself. He says that in 2 Corinthians 12. But he also realizes that God's grace was sufficient. So much so that he'd rather be weak for he knew his weakness. He experienced God's strength. And he wanted God's strength to be evident in his life. That's why Peter tells us in 1 Peter chapter 5, verse number 10, it says, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ would himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

The God of all grace. He doesn't have partial grace. He doesn't dispense grace to such an extent that he has to go back and rest a while and replenish himself. No, he's the God of all grace. Right? So his grace is adequate for every situation you're going through and enables you to accomplish whatever it is you need to accomplish. And whatever grace is available for you is available for me. And so forth because God's grace never runs dry. And therefore God is always wanting to do things for undeserving people because he's a gracious God.

And that's why we adore the God of grace. We acknowledge and appreciate the God of grace. It's also why we apply the teaching of grace. Right? Titus 2. Titus chapter 2, verse number 11. For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, godly in the present age. When someone tells you that they are saved, that they're born again, that they're a Christian, there should be an obvious note about how they apply the teaching of grace.

If you've been saved by grace, you are sanctified by grace. You serve by grace. You stand in grace. And when you suffer you need God's grace. But there's something about God's grace being so instructive. The grace of God has appeared to all men instructing us, teaching us to deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, worldly pleasures, that we might live a sensible life, that we might live a holy life, that we might live a godly life. Listen, if someone has received the grace of God, right, the evidence is the fact that they are following the teaching of that grace and they are living holy, godly, sensible lives.

And it goes on to say being zealous for good deeds, excited about serving the Lord, anticipating the return of the Lord. Why? Because the God of grace is coming back. That's how they want to live their lives. So important. And so the church, the product of the grace of God, they adore the God of grace. And they apply the teaching of grace. They also approach the throne of grace. The church is a praying body, beseeching the throne of grace. Remember Hebrews chapter 4, verse number 14, says, Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin.

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The church approaches the throne of grace because the church is in need of mercy. The church is in need of grace. And where else are you going to get it? From the God of grace, who from the throne of grace dispenses His grace to His children. What a great thing. And also, know this, the church is a product of the grace of God, therefore, we are the ones who articulate the gospel of grace.

Remember what Paul said way back in the book of Acts chapter 20? He says this in verse number 22, Behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me, but I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course in the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul says I have one ministry, I have one priority, and that's to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. The believer in the church of Jesus Christ, having received God's grace, wants others to receive that grace. They want to hear, they want them to hear about the grace of God. And so they beseech them based on the fact that they serve a God who is filled with grace. And the only way that man can be saved is if he hears the gospel of grace. So they articulate it. That's the church, that's the product of the grace of God.

Isn't it interesting that the very last book of the Bible ends with these words, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. The book of Revelation ends with the word about grace. In fact, if you read Revelation 22, it's all about an invitation, an invitation that the Lord gives at the end of the book about judgment. And he ends by talking about grace. Because the only way you get into God's kingdom is by His grace. And that's how the book of Revelation ends. That's how the Bible ends. But uniquely in Revelation chapter 1, Revelation also begins with grace.

Revelation 1 verse number 4, John to the seven churches that are in Asia, Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come. So listen, the last book of the Bible is a book about judgment, a book about condemnation, damnation. But it begins with the word about grace and ends with the word about grace. So God in a book giving to people what they do deserve begins by saying, I'm going to give you what you don't deserve. I'm going to offer you grace. That's just remarkable to me.

You see, because the Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. And God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. So He begins with grace. He ends with grace. Just to let you know that the God of judgment offers grace to those who are listening. So we, the church, the product of the grace of God are the ones who adore, acknowledge and appreciate the God of grace. Do you? I would hope you did. You do. And you will. And we apply the teaching of grace. Because we want to live sensible, godly, holy lives in a culture that's filled with evil and sin.

We certainly have to approach the throne of grace that we might receive mercy and grace that helps in time of need. Because all of us have needs and we need the grace of God to sustain us. And the church says the product of the grace of God articulates the gospel of grace. So those who think they're on the way to heaven because somehow they have achieved it or can earn it will realize that that's just not true. That the only way to get there is by the Lord Himself who dispenses mercy and grace and favor upon undeserving sinners.

So you might be sitting here saying today, well, okay. But I just don't understand about being a recipient of the grace of God. I don't see the grace of God sustaining me and I don't see the grace of God enabling me and I don't see the grace of God amidst my suffering to perfect me and to confirm me and to establish me. Well, Peter tells us why that might not be the case in 1 Peter chapter 5 when he says these words, God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. God does not give grace to the proud, to the arrogant, to the independent, to the self-sufficient individual.

He only gives grace to the humble, those who realize they have nothing, those who realize they are nothing. See, the problem that people have is that in order to become a Christian you realize that you're absolutely nothing. You have nothing, you are nothing, and you need the one who is everything, Christ himself, the Savior of man. And with him you become everything because you obtain his life and the life of Christ lives within you and you become the person that God wants you to be for the glory of his kingdom.

So Peter tells us that God resists the proud but he does give grace to the humble. So he says, therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. So he says it, that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon him, all of it, all your anxious thoughts upon him. Why? Because he is the one who cares for you. Why do we love the church? We love the church because the church is the plan of the Son of God. It's the possession of the living God. It's the pillar of the truth of God.

It's the picture, it's the picture of the love of God. It's the product of the grace of God. Next week, it's the priority of the people of God. But until then, let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for today, the chance you give us to worship and to proclaim your name. Thank you for those who are here and pray Lord you go before us. Thank you for your amazing grace that saves us and sustains us and takes us through every day that we might really recognize your great grace. Lord, help us to be the kind of people that apply the teaching of grace to our lives.

That continually approach the throne of grace every day. And articulate to the world the gospel of grace. All for the glory of your name. Thank you that you saved us. Thank you that we're a part of your kingdom. Until you come again, may we be faithful. In Jesus name, amen.